hey gun enthusiests out there do you think gunbroker.com is a good idea for purchasing a new firearm or just dealing with an ffl dealer directly?

Rancher

03-13-2012, 14:02

I have got some great deal there. Only delt with a business and never a private sale. Always fast shipping. Northern Firearms is a good seller there.

A good place on-line to buy is Bud's, they have great prices but don't be in any hurry to get what you buy. Have had an order in their shipping department since last Thursday, made the purchase the week before. Very hard to beat their prices, easy to beat their service but would still buy from them.

Rancher

sourdough44

03-13-2012, 14:03

If you deal with a reputable seller you should be fine, especially on a new gun.

OrangePwr9

03-13-2012, 14:19

I've had very good luck with Gunbroker. Mostly I bought used and new-old stock muzzleloaders; probably over a dozen transactions. Only one was less than I'd hoped and the seller made it up to me.

Only gotcha is that 'real' firearms should be transferred FFL to FFL and some of the sellers do not have the license. Thus you can end up paying FFL transfer fees on both ends. This isn't an issue with muzzleloaders.

GB can give you access to virtually every gun model ever made along with a reasonable gauge for pricing. Hard not to like that.

TSAX

03-13-2012, 14:33

If you deal with a reputable seller you should be fine, especially on a new gun.

I agree, I have had good experiences for the most part, I had a few shady buyers on items I was selling. Just becareful and know the laws in case someone asks you to do something illegal. The items I bought were usually from people who had business and good ratings. In mays ways its like ebay.

:50cal:

cmrtwister2

03-13-2012, 14:35

AA++ always have had good luck.

HAMMERHEAD

03-13-2012, 14:51

I've had good luck for the most part. Got ripped off once by a well known seller of S&W revolvers in KY with over 4,000 sales on GB. They sold me a S&W 624 that had serious issues with the lock work. The problem was obvious, impossible to miss. Had to send it to S&W for repairs on my dollar.

ZekerMan

03-13-2012, 15:13

I have bought 2 long guns and one pistol. Long guns from a FFL holder and the pistol from a individual, I worried some about buying from the individual but everything worked out OK.

JDSTG58

03-13-2012, 16:50

.......

samurairabbi

03-13-2012, 16:57

Gunbroker has a useful feature: it allows searching by individual state. If you search within your home state, and the seller is agreeable, you can bypass the whole FFL exchange if your state allows private transactions.

craig19

03-13-2012, 16:59

I've had good luck so far, bought a few guns, all from sellers with a lot of positive feedback, never from someone with 0 feedback.

bac1023

03-13-2012, 17:18

I've purchased about 2 dozen guns on GB. Love it.

waynokarider01

03-13-2012, 18:05

I agree with what has been said already. I would first choose a local FFL that will treat me good on the transfer of any firearms I purchase. I have heard too many people sat that they have to pay $50 or even more for a transfer. A bad experience on a transfer can ruin a good deal. I may be lucky, but I have a few dealers that I use. One charges me $5, but is very busy and far out of my way. Another shop that I like charges $20 but is only 5 minutes out of my way. Another charges $10, but told me not to order anything until I give him the model number and let him give me a price quote. Sure enough, he beat the best price I found, ordered it himself, then sold it to me with no transfer fee. That said, any new firearms I want will come from him. I would still use GB for used, or otherwise unobtainable purchases.

bikerdog

03-13-2012, 18:13

Ive used GB about 25 times now. And of that 8 were gun transfers. Only had one bad experience and that was on a magazine from a dealer. Over all i really like gun broker and will continue to check with them before i buy anything local

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Two Guns

03-13-2012, 18:41

I use Gun Broker quite a bit and have been very happy with my purchases. But I use Auction Arms more.

Cole125

03-13-2012, 18:50

I have nothing but good things to say about Gunbroker.com

dukeguy

03-13-2012, 19:08

I just ordered a Browning Buckmark from Northern Firearms, a Gunbroker dealer. Got a great price that included shipping, and even when you factor in the FFL fee, it was still a better deal than anywhere else I could find one.

wrenrj1

03-13-2012, 19:12

It's all about knowing what things are worth, the cost of the transfer, and trust. If they add up to savings on your end then so be it. I haven't found a deal that I would take over the internet for a firearm IMHO that would save me a few bucks.

ctfireman

03-13-2012, 19:19

I only deal with sellers from my home state so i can see the item in person before bidding. But the site itself is good.

stopatrain

03-13-2012, 19:21

I've bought and sold several with no problems. I'am careful to deal with reputable sellers, everybody seems to have an A+ rating but can have several negative feedbacks.

OldSchool64

03-13-2012, 19:31

I've had good luck with GunBroker for small items and one used Ruger Blackhawk, no problems. I do prefer to deal with a local gun shop but they can't always compete with internet prices. I've also bought a hand gun from Cheaper Than Dirt, price was unbeatable, fast and cheap shipping.

Decguns

03-13-2012, 19:40

I've bought and sold guns on gunbroker for about 10 yrs. Haven't had any problems yet. You can really get great deals from estate sales which are usually penny auctions with no reserve. You'll probably find a lot of your local gun shops with their inventory listed at lower than in store prices. But, that's also a problem since the guns in their auctions are usually for sale in the shop and may be sold in-shop while you're bidding.

There's no reason why you have to do an FFL to FFL transfer. Almost every state allows their citizens to ship guns to an FFL. As an FFL, I've never required anyone to ship the gun from an FFL to me. Most of my transfers are GIs getting their Dad or Mom to Fedex their guns from back home.

Glockdude1

03-13-2012, 19:44

Gunbroker.com is a pawn shop on the internet. You will find both trash and treasure. Overall, I have had a good experience buying off of gunbroker for the last 12 years.

:cool:

SonnyCrockett

03-14-2012, 04:11

I like it lots,the format itself is weak IMO but the selections are megasized and with all the distributor games out there locating what I want when I want is easier

Bruce M

03-14-2012, 05:34

I have found a few guns and other stuff on Gunbroker. All the transactions went well. My guess is that for current production popular firearms, you can probably usually do better with a local store, or sometimes a show. However for the less common stuff and out of production guns, Gunbroker would probably be about my first choice.

PlasticGuy

03-14-2012, 06:00

It depends what I'm looking for. For common or lower cost guns, it's easier to buy locally. For rare or expensive guns, Gunbroker is awesome.

Glock22-007

03-14-2012, 06:11

I have bought 2 long guns and one pistol. Long guns from a FFL holder and the pistol from a individual, I worried some about buying from the individual but everything worked out OK.

so i just look for the ffl seal when thinking about bidding,instead of just haphazardly bidding?

sr975j

03-14-2012, 16:47

i just ordered a spike's upper yesterday. should be here friday or monday. it has been very trouble free so far.

Sam

82ndVet

03-25-2012, 19:10

Overall, a pretty good experience. But...there is one thing that really bugs me, and that would be this...When you are selling your item, 14 day auction that is priced to sell, hot item, 3 days left, 20 'watchers' and zero bidders...well, inflation is everywhere, even on GB. If you want the item, you WILL bid...or the price will increase 5-10$ every 12hrs until someone does bid, which stops me from inflating the price. Your looking, watching, and obviously have the cash...so BID!!! Some sellers, 'I am one of them' like to see bidding wars, so BID!!! Most folks would drop the price to attract bidders, I raise it...Why? Because, as I've already stated, your looking, watching, and have the cash...so BID!...or I inflate to make you bid.

ceverhart

03-26-2012, 09:46

My use of gunbroker.com has been good except for one deal. I bought a ruger sr9c from a very reputable dealer, tinstarshootingrange.com. I used buy it now on Saturday afternoon and they waited until Tuesday afternoon to let me know it was not in stock as it was sold. They told me I should have called to make sure they had it before I placed a bid. They are the only company I have ever dealt with that had that type of business practice. I will still use gunbroker but I will not deal with tinstartshootingrange.com ever again.